A Student's Good First Blog Post

Students in Reading Workshop have begun blogging as part of their language arts class.  The first assignment was to write about the main character in the book they are reading.  Students all choose their own books based on their interests and ability.

Megan set the standard with her first post.  You can follow her work throughout the year on her blog, Megan's Thoughts.

How You Can Control the Test Grader

OK, so Martha has your test and answer booklet. She doesn't know you, and doesn't care to. In fact, she doesn't know about Reading Workshop, the name of the school, the town, or the state where you live. You are just a number in a stack. A tall stack of answer booklets that have to be graded before she can take a break.

Whether or not you pass this test means less than nothing to Martha. The things on her mind include sneaking out to get a diet coke, getting rid of this head ache, figuring out how to avoid listening to her sister complain about having to babysit, and about having to do laundry after work, or she will have absolutely nothing to wear tomorrow. She is also thinking about surfing and last summer's vacation.

Now it all comes down to you, the student, and your answer booklet. Will your hard work be in vain? Will eight months of learning be wasted? Or will you be a success story making yourself, your parents, your teachers, and your school feel proud using the Strategies you have been taught?

Did you write neatly?  Can she read your responses? Did you write legibly? Trying to strain her eyes and her brain to read cat scratches is going to irritate Martha. She probably won't even take the time to sort through it. She will just give it a big, fat, zero.

Did you organize your answers to make finding key points easy?  If you restated the question and numbered your responses, Martha can easily find key words and information. Using a rubric to score short answer and extended response answers, Martha is looking for specific words and answers.

Did you go back into the essay and find specific details?  Going back and finding specific details in the passage is paramount. Any time a questions asks for specific details, they are looking for examples word-for-word from the text.

Did you use the passage to help you with your spelling?  Another factor that makes grading easier is correct spelling. Most of the words that you need to spell are either in the question, or in the passage. It just takes a second to look back and find the correct spelling.

Did you use the basic test taking skills that you have learned in class?

Images from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx

How the Life of a Test Grader Affects Test Scores

As the time for testing quickly approaches, students in Reading Workshop have the chance once again, to meet Martha, the Test Grader. 

Martha is a single mom, with a four year old daughter named Emily. Martha is just trying to get by day to day. This morning, at 6:00 AM, as Martha was getting ready for her job as an Achievement Test Grader in a state far, far, away, her babysitter called and said she couldn't watch Emily today.

After three phone calls, she finally reached her sister, who agreed to watch Emily for the day. The only problem was her sister lived 20 miles away, so Martha barely had time to get there, and then make it to work on time.

As she rushed around the kitchen, eating a piece of toast while she picked up, Emily spilled her cereal all over the floor. Five minutes later, after cleaning up the spill, Martha glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. She grabbed a cup of coffee to go, snatched up Emily and bolted out the door. She put Emily in the car, and jumped in her seat. As she reached across to buckle the seat belt, she spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. "Oh @#$#@@#$," she thought.

She unbuckled Emily and ran back in the house to change. She searched high and low, but there was nothing clean to wear. She grabbed her cleanest dirty shirt out of the laundry, shook it out, and slid it on. Once again, she and Emily headed for her sister's house. Naturally, she hit a construction zone two minutes from her sister's. After sitting for 10 minutes, she finally got through. She sprinted in, gave Emily a kiss good bye, and headed off to work. She had 11 minutes to make the 20 minute drive.

She was lucky, the construction only held her up for 5 minutes this time through. Unfortunately, her head pounded with a migraine from the stress of the morning. And work hadn't even started yet.

She reached work, late again. She stopped by the pop machine, but didn't have any change for her morning dose of Diet Coke. As she rounded the corner, there stood her boss, with a mean look on his face, and her daily stack of tests to score.

"Late again, I see," he said with a scowl. "Don't even think about taking a break until you get this school's tests scored." With her head pounding, no Diet Coke, and no time for Advil, Martha reached for the first test. Martha, the test grader opened your test.

How will you score?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx

Achievement Strategies

 As the day of achievement testing fast approaches, students brainstormed a list of strategies that would lead to success on the test.


Strategies for Reading

• Read the questions before the passage
• Read the title
• Look at word banks and subtitles
• Skim to get an idea of what the passage is about
• Reread 
• Look for the W's (who, what, when, where, why, and how)
• Use prior knowledge
• Visualize--Picture what you are reading
• Underline/highlight important information

Strategies for Word Attack

• Circle words you don't understand
• Substitute words you don't know
• Sound out words
• Cross out unneeded adjectives and adverbs
• Make connections
• Look at root words
• Look at prefixes/suffixes
• Use Context Clues

Strategies for Answering Questions

• Find Your Answers in the Passage
• Mark in the passage where you found the answer
• Restate the Question
• Look at how many points the answer is worth
• Number your response
• Use words from the text
• Use specific details from the text
• Always give at least one extra example/detail
• Answer what the question is asking
• Answer in complete sentences
• Look at other questions for clues
• Eliminate multiple choice answers that don't make sense
• Reread the question and double check answers
• Recheck answers in the passage
• Write neatly so the grader can understand your answer
• When finished, check PUGS to make it easier to grade

What a Teacher Hopes for from a Student Blogger

Hadley has written 45 posts since September 17.  Most students in Reading Workshop write one or two posts a week.  Hadley has averaged four posts a week.  She writes cleanly and in an engaging style that tells a great story, and sparks many questions.

That's not the only thing that sets her apart.  She gets what matters.  Her posts share her thoughts, ideas, and opinions.  Posts often make the reader laugh and lots of times makes them smile. Her writing style draws in the reader. She posts regularly, writing in the evening after school, on weekends, and snow days.  She reads many of her peer's blogs, and comments on them.

Here is an excerpt from the post A Gray/Brown/Non-white Christmas

 Q :I hate it! I hate it, I hate it, I hate it! What do I hate?

A: THERE IS NO SNOW ON THE GROUND!!!!

I don’t get it. Do the snow Gods hate me? Was Elvis trying  to tell me something? I don’t know! I do know one thing, though; I WANT SNOW!

Another example from Team Laurelville

In the classroom, there are lots of places for good sportsmanship. Like when your worst enemy gets mentioned because he/she does a good deed, makes a great blog post, or when they get their named mentioned on The Reading Workshop, you should say “Great” or “I like the post” or something like that since they did a good job. Maybe since you did that to them, when you do something you’re proud of, they might treat you the same. The Golden Rule can work with more than just adult life!!

For a great read, and an excellent example of what a student blog should look like, just visit Hadley's Planet.

This is Sharing Your Thoughts

As we start a new year in Reading Workshop, one of the main goals is making writing meaningful using descriptive writing with many supporting details.  It really does not matter whether the writing is a response to a question, a blog post, a journal, a letter, or any other type of writing.  Quality writing brings the reader into the mind and the heart of the writer.  Details help the reader see, and feel, and understand.

When I read Katey's blog post, it grabbed me and I knew immediately, this was a great example of what I expect in  students' writing.  This was in response to a prompt from Larger-Than-Life Lara.

My first impression of Lara was "Whoa, what in the world is she describing?" I actually didn’t know what to say about Lara, it was just like an "OMG!" moment, I was speechless. I don’t know if that was what the author wanted people to think, but that was my thought (sorry if that makes anybody mad). When Lara was first described by Laney I thought she wouldn’t be like she is. I didn’t think that Lara would be always smiling and cheerful. I was also suprised after Laney descibed her, that she was a new student.  At first I thought she was an adult, but when she said that she was a new student I was shocked.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/robinhutton/
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Rules for Blog Comments

Everyone that blogs wants readers.  And, we wish that every single person that visited our blog would comment.  In fact, almost any comment is better than none.  So, the most important rule for blog comments is to comment.  If you agree, say so.  If you disagree, or have a different opinion, say so.  But whatever you do, take a minute and let us know you were here.

As students in Reading Workshop begin to build their blogs, post by post, the need for some structure in commenting is evident.  Hopefully these guidelines will help students engage in meaningful dialogue, comment by comment.

Here are the Reading Workshop rules for Blog Comments.

1.  Be nice. No name-calling and personal abuse, please.

2.  Keep on topic.  Don't write a comment that has little or nothing to do with the subject of the article.

3.  Opposing opinions are welcome, as long as they are respectful of the views of others.  If you disagree with the opinions of the author, express it politely.

4.  Don’t issue personal attacks or insults.  Attacks against  the author, other bloggers, commenters or people will be deleted.

5.  Avoid repeating yourself.  If many people have already said something, please don’t say it again.  Once you make a point, support it, but don't keep saying the same thing over, and over, and over.

5.  Avoid repeating yourself.  If many people have already said something, please don’t say it again  (See how annoying this is).

6.  Don’t make comments like “Great post.” If you read it, say why it was great.  Add some­thing to the con­ver­sa­tion.   Add your own view, or thoughts to the topic.

7.  Don’t use incorrect grammar or mispellings. Doing this makes the blog look like a low quality blog. It makes the blogger feel like you don't care enough to take the time to do it right.

For more information about commenting, see the post Comments That Count. 

Always remember the most important rule for blog comments is to comment.

Blogging in the Classroom

Students are creating blogs to post their writing about their thoughts, ideas, opinions, and responses.  Using this Web 2.0 tool in the classroom allows students to share their work, comment on each others work, have a real audience, and lets parents view their child's work in Reading Workshop.

For more information about what a blog is, and how it works, check out this video by Lee LeFever of Common Craft. 

Grading Students' Blogs

Want an A on your blog? Climb the stairs to writing success. Climb the stairs to earning a good grade.

Did you spell everything correctly? I would hope so. After all, who would want to write something that is available to the whole world, and misspell words? Can the reader understand the topic because you stick to it? Following these minimal standards will earn you at least a D.

Did you use correct grammar? Can the reader follow your post in an organized manner? This is still a most basic expectations for writers that want to publish their work. The skills learned in the primary grades are not too much to expect for work posted on the WWW. A C means satisfactory and not meeting this criteria would surely not be sufficient for earning any higher grade.

To build loyal readers, first you must have interesting content presented in a well-written way. Supporting details draw in the readers and give them understanding. If posts are written cleanly, the words illustrate the meaning, and the reader can visualize your ideas, you will earn a B.

Occasionally someone will write something that makes the reader pause, and think, or causes the reader to agree or disagree. Sometimes hours after reading an essay, the reader is still thinking about it. When a blog post has that something special, then the writer deserves an A.

What step are you on? Have you climbed the stairs to writing success?

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Achievement Testing Online

The Ohio Department of Education has a portal into all of their Achievement Test Resources. Teachers, parents, and students can access this to meet a variety of needs. Teachers can actually build tests, using previous versions, or based on chosen content standards. Parents can look at past tests to see tests their child has taken. Students can practice for the Achievement Test.

In Reading Workshop, I am using this site to prepare students for the OAT that they will take on Monday. The ability to create lessons, using past tests provides online practice that is directly tied to skills and vocabulary necessary for good results. It allows students to familiarize themselves with all aspects of the OAT.

The practice test also provide immediate feedback on multiple choice questions. This is an example of an answered question.

Question 1

What mood is expressed when Bud closes his eyes in the beginning of the selection?

A. He is unhappy because he just walked to the library and up a tall set of stairs.

If a student chooses A, he or she may not understand that the author is implying that Bud is happy to be in the library. Bud does not close his eyes because he is unhappy, though someone may close his or her eyes if he or she is feeling sad.

B. He is excited to feel the page powder on his face so he can fall asleep.

If a student chooses B, he or she may not realize that Bud’s closing his eyes does not mean that he wants to feel the page powder on his face, though he does describe the page powder in great detail later in the selection.

C. He is comfortable with the mixture of smells in the library.

At the beginning of the selection, Bud says he closes his eyes. It is at this point in the story that he begins to describe the unique library smells, showing his mood of happiness and his feeling of comfort.

D. He is nervous about a plan to find Miss Hill.

If a student chooses D, he or she may know that a person may close his or her eyes when nervous. However, the author is not attempting to show that Bud is nervous or trying to think of a plan until the end of the selection.

The green check designates a correct answer. If the question is answered incorrectly, a red X would be placed by their answer. If students will take the time to read the explanations, each answer is a mini-lesson in itself.

Short answer and extended response questions are available also. The rubric to score them is there, for teachers to evaluate students' work. After using this tool in our classroom, I can't help but wonder, when will we be able to take the OAT online?

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More on Martha, the Test Grader

OK, so Martha has your test and answer booklet. She doesn't know you, and doesn't care to. In fact, she doesn't even know about Reading Workshop, the name of the school, the town, or the state where you live. You are just a number in a stack. A tall stack of answer booklets that have to be graded before she can take a break.

Whether or not you pass this test means less than nothing to Martha. The things on her mind include sneaking out to get a diet coke, getting rid of this head ache, figuring out how to avoid listening to her sister complain about having to babysit, and about having to do laundry after work, or she will have absolutely nothing to wear tomorrow. She is also thinking about surfing and last summer's vacation.

Now it all comes down to you, the student, and your answer booklet. Will your hard work be in vain? Will eight months of learning be wasted? Or will you be a success story making yourself, your parents, your teachers, and your school feel proud?

The first thing, can she read it? Did you write legibly? Trying to strain her eyes and her brain to read cat scratches is going to irritate Martha. She probably won't even take the time to sort through it. She will just give it a big, fat, zero. Did you write neatly?

Next, if you restated the question and numbered your responses, Martha can easily find key words and information. Using a rubric to score short answer and extended response answers, Martha is looking for specific words and answers. Did you organize your answers to make finding key points easy?

Going back and finding specific details in the passage is paramount. Any time a questions asks for specific details, they are looking for examples word-for-word from the text. Did you go back into the essay and find specific details?

Another factor that makes grading easier is correct spelling. Most of the words that you need to spell are either in the question, or in the passage. It just takes a second to look back and find the correct spelling. Did you use the passage to help you with your spelling?

Did you use the basic test taking skills that you have learned in class?

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/82881549/in/set-1618327/

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/2487248468/in/set-1618327/

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For the beginning of this story, read Martha, the Test Grader.
For the end of this story, read Martha, the Test Grader, Part 3.

Martha, the Test Grader

Martha is a single mom, with a four year old daughter named Emily. Martha is just trying to get by day to day. This morning, at 6:00 AM, as Martha was getting ready for her job as an Achievement Test Grader in a state far, far, away, her babysitter called and said she couldn't watch Emily today. After three phone calls, she finally reached her sister, who agreed to watch Emily for the day. The only problem was her sister lived 20 miles away, so Martha barely had time to get there, and then make it to work on time.

As she rushed around the kitchen, eating a piece of toast while she picked up, Emily spilled her cereal all over the floor. Five minutes later, after cleaning up the spill, Martha glanced at the clock and realized she was going to be late. She grabbed a cup of coffee to go, snatched up Emily and bolted out the door. She put Emily in the car, and jumped in her seat. As she reached across to buckle the seat belt, she spilled her coffee down the front of her shirt. "Oh @#$#@@#$," she thought.

She unbuckled Emily and ran back in the house to change. She searched high and low, but there was nothing clean to wear. She grabbed her cleanest dirty shirt out of the laundry, shook it out, and slid it on. Once again, she and Emily headed for her sister's house. Naturally, she hit a construction zone two minutes from her sister's. After sitting for 10 minutes, she finally got through. She sprinted in, gave Emily a kiss good bye, and headed off to work. She had 11 minutes to make the 20 minute drive.

She was lucky, the construction only held her up for 5 minutes this time through. Unfortunately, her head pounded with a migraine from the stress of the morning. And work hadn't even started yet.

She reached work, late again. She stopped by the pop machine, but didn't have any change for her daily dose of Diet Coke. As she rounded the corner, there stood her boss, with a mean look on his face, and her daily stack of tests to score. "Late again, I see," he said with a scowl. "Don't even think about taking a break until you get this school's tests scored."

With her head pounding, no Diet Coke, and no time for Advil, Martha reached for the first test. Martha, the test grader opened your test.

How will you score?

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Thanks to my teaching neighbor, J. Stevenson who first told me about Martha.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/kandyjaxx/173120800/

Read More on Martha, the Test Grader.

Getting Ready for "The Test"

Copiers are firing off worksheets and pencil sharpers are grinding away. This time of year, The Reading Workshop, like almost every other classroom in the United States is focusing on preparing for the Achievement Test. Last year, Laurelville students received an excellent rating. This sets a high standard for this year, and students are working hard to prepare for testing beginning the week of April 20.

Some of the activities include:

1. Before school intervention classes with small groups of students are held each morning to assist fifth and sixth grade students with specific skill needs.

2. Peer tutoring on Study Island in areas of specific weaknesses help students address each content area.

3. The sixth grade will have a practice run-through of the Achievement test on Monday, March 23 for reading, and Wednesday, March 25 for math.

4. Students will review scored practice tests and rewrite incomplete or wrong short answer and extended response questions.

5. Students are taking past OAT written response questions and learning the proper format to most-likely answer correctly.

6. The 2006 Seventh Grade Reading Achievement Test is being used to practice on typical, although somewhat harder passages.

7. Group work and cooperative learning activities help students share techniques for comprehension and finding information with peers.

8. Daily class discussions focus on addressing students' needs and sharing ideas that make success more likely.

Students are working hard and learning many skills that will make them better test takers. When the time comes, I am sure their results will reflect the effort they are putting forth each day in class.

Image from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mimiw/302995395
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You Need to Start Acting Like a First Grader

I just happened to be walking down the first grade hallway when I overheard one of the first grade teachers talking to a little boy. Although the teacher said it in a nice way, the implications were clear. It was time to straighten up. This little boy had better correct his actions or bad time were ahead (see the title).

This caused me to start to think about expectations in Reading Workshop. I had to be out one day last week. The students had an assignment to write a comment to a blog post. Although I usually don't assign commenting to a post, I decided this would be a great opportunity for a writing assignment.

When I started to read the comments, they were horrible. There were mistakes everywhere. Words were misspelled. Capitals were missing on proper nouns and to start sentences. The grammar was like something from a language arts horror film.

Needless to say, when I got back the next day, I was irked. Although I am usually a poster child for happiness and joy, I put on the ugly face. I screamed and shouted, grunted and groaned, and made all kind of mean remarks. I showed examples and made examples of poor work.

Amazingly, that day, I got the best work I have had all year. Words were spelled correctly, Sentences had correct punctuation and capitalization. Students' writing made sense and made the reader think and wonder. The overall quality was excellent.

What does this tell me? Students will work to the level of expectations. If I expect the impossible, and won't accept any less, they will raise the quality of their work all the way to the stars. Get ready kiddos--you proved to me that I need to expect the impossible, and you will come through!

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Scoring Online Journals

Students have been writing in their online journals on Wikispaces since November. They also log their reading at home and in the classroom during SSR on a table in their journal. This is a convenient method for me because I can easily sit down and see how much they are reading, and decide if they are understanding the book they are reading.

This method of Web 2.0 journals is also easy for students because they can access their journal any place that has an Internet connection. If they are absent, or don't complete a journal entry, they can write in it at home, or from the library. Many students take advantage of this and spend the time to add details to their entries outside of class. This is a great way for their extra work to result in higher grades.

Journals are scored using the Online Journal Rubric. We discussed scoring using the rubrics during minilessons. Also, in order to help students better understand the process, they scored their journals with a parent. This proved to be one of students' favorite activities of the year. Most really enjoyed going over their writing with their parents.

As the end of the nine weeks comes up on Friday, I scored journals this week. I used the rubric, and changed text to red in areas that students need to improve. Entries have greatly improved since the first few days. This is partially a benefit of understanding and streamlining the process.

The ever-pressing need for time is evident in many journals. Students sometimes feel frustrated by only having 5 - 10 minutes each day to write their entries. Having journals scored, with areas for improvement so visual, students should continue to make improvements.

For an example of what earns a 4 or A, you can take a look at Heather's Online Journal. Here is an example of one of Heather's posts:

12/16/08 The Problem in My Book
In my book, the kids that are staying at Jenny House, for the summer are having a problem. Well unless you think that Jenny House burning down is not a problem. The fire all started in an elevator shaft. Katie, Lacey and Chellsea thought that Dullas started the fire and they blamed it all on her. Then they found out the truth. The girls all said that they were sorry and she asked why that they thought she did it. So they told her how she was being so mean to everyone. "You said that you hated Jenny House."

Remember that about all of these kids are about 7-18 and they just lost the place they were staying at. The kids that were staying there live all over the U.S.A and they are trying to fined out how to get home. Right now they are staying in town in a hotel.

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Why Writing Correctly Matters

Texting, IM'ing, and the casual language of students today is a concern to many people in education. When talking to students, by far the majority realize how different types of writing require different styles. Most students know the difference between formal and informal language.

However, grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills still tend to trip up many writers. Part of the challenge is recognizing just how much of an impact mistakes have on the reader. Often times, we teach the how, and not the why. Occasionally, something comes along that really points out the reason most of us take writing correctly so seriously.

With permission from Sister Salad, this edited version of their video, "Yo Comments Are Wack!" points out the disasterous commenting seen on the web and explains why writing matters. I first saw this video on Joanne Jacobs, but it needed a little editing to make it appropriate for use in school.

Thanks to Lizz, Alexandra, and Invisisis for allowing the editing of this video so students everywhere can benefit from their knowledge of wacked out comments!

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The More You Do, the Better the Grade

Grades in Reading Workshop are earned based on students' work. Most assignments are graded using a rubric scoring work with 1 - 4. This tanslates into 4=A, 3=B, 2=C, and 1=D. As long as students make an effort to complete their work, they do not recieve an F.

However, doing extra work can significantly raise students' grades. This rewards those students that take the time, and make the effort to earn higher grades. There are several ways students can improve both by doing extra reading and extra writing.

As a teacher, I reward the students that make the most effort. Although grades are not entirely tied to how hard a student works, poor grades are reflective of a lack of work ethic.

Students weekly Read at Home assignment rewards extra effort. Students choose a book that they want to read from home, the library, or the book room. The only requirement is that they log the title, time read, and pages.

The grade is based solely on time read.

A = 180 + Minutes
B = 120 - 179 Minutes
C = 60 - 119 Minutes
F = 0-59 Minutes

Students online journal is scored using a rubric, but by writing more, they can drastically improve their score. The more detail in each entry, the more likely journals are to earn an A. Time in the classroom to write in journals is limited to about ten minutes. Students that are willing to spend additional time can obviously have more detailed entries. By having the journals online, students can work on journals anywhere they have Internet access, including during library and study hall classes.

Commenting on the blog earns extra credit. Several students raise their grade by at least one letter every nine weeks, by commenting frequently. This is an excellent trade-off for me, because students read posts, think about them, and then write responses. Consistenly reading the blog also gives students a better understanding of Reading Workshop goals and expectations.

There is no excuse for poor grades in Reading Workshop. If students don't like their grades, all they need to do is read more and write more.

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Parent & Child Online Assignment

Parents, your child's homework assignment for tonight includes you. Students have been working hard on their online journals. Tonight is their chance to share their work with you. Hopefully you will enjoy this opportunity to see what your child has been doing in Reading Workshop.

The online journal is used daily for students to write on topics about the fictional books they are reading in language arts class. A lot of emphasis is placed on supporting their thoughts, ideas, and opinions with specific details from the book. Keep in mind though, they only have 5 -10 minutes each day for this writing task.

Please look over your child's online journal, answer questions on the sheet, and score the journal using the Online Journal Rubric.

Please feel free to look at other students' journals also. This will give you a way to gauge the overall quality that I am looking for in their journals. A couple of excellent examples are Sarah's journal, Lily's journal, and Makayla's journal. Take a minute and leave a positive comment in any of the journals if you see something you like. I am sure the students would really appreciate it.

C'mon Parents, I Need Your Help

I have been pleased with the participation of students this year on The Reading Workshop blog. Their comments have been well-written, with their thoughts, ideas, and opinions shared for all to read. They have posted comments openly and honestly.

I have tried to write regularly, sharing events from the class and our school. I have also tried to share some of the interactions with students that make teaching interesting and challenging. I have tried to respond to some comments, with answers to questions, and discussion of opinions.

Teachers and other visitors jump in and comment occasionally. Nothing makes me happier than to see a teacher share her thoughts and opinions about issues and education in Laurelville.

Now, I need parents to jump in and comment. The purpose of the blog is a three-way conversation between teachers, students, and parents. This is the only format I know of where we can have an open dialogue about school, our class, and issues in education. BUT, for this to happen, we need parents to join us. Please help make this a valuable learning tool for your child. I would be thrilled to read comments from parents on every post. If you are reading, and have a thought, idea, question, comment, or concern, please post it. Let your child, and all of the students from Laurelville know that you are reading, and that their comments have an audience.

Writer's Block

When I have writer's block, I just write some hooey. I just put some words down, knowing that it ain't gonna be to good. What the heck, it's just a first draft, so it don't really matter. First drafts are supposed to suck.

Sometimes I will crank up the music. Sometimes I will read a little, or surf the net. But the main thing I do is just keep trying to get words down. Good, bad, or ugly, I just keep adding a word here, and then a word there until I have a sentence. Before I know it, I have written another post on the blog.

Now, my brilliant young students, I am sure you are asking, "what does this have to do with me and Reading Workshop?"

I have noticed that some of you are sitting there, looking like the keyboard might electrocute you. It won't. I promise. Just put down some words. Any words. You are allowed to make mistakes. You are allowed to not make sense. Go ahead, screw up. We can fix it. If you are not sure about the assignment, ask.

If you are not quite sure, just throw some words out there. Before you know it, the assignment will be done. You will be a success. Your teacher and your parents will be proud. They will smile and tell you that you are wonderful. You will get A's and be on the honor roll. You will win all of the awards.


P.S. Even if all of that doesn't happen, at least you will get the assignment done.